


The First Kiss That Mattered

by ilovethisship



Series: Tumblr Prompts - Zaven [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, but there's a small bit of angst in there because who would i be if that wasn't there, but this is pretty fluffy, i'm changing as a person, mostly fluff i guess, only rated teen because there's one bad word, up through 5x08, wow who am i that there's only one bad word in this fic and my last fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-30 23:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15107324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovethisship/pseuds/ilovethisship
Summary: Zaven ‘First Kiss’ fic requested by an anon onTumblr. This is set in the canonverse and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on that led them here, but I’m going with the season-five-is-ending-with-space-travel theory.





	The First Kiss That Mattered

**Author's Note:**

> Zaven ‘First Kiss’ fic requested by an anon on [Tumblr](http://thegriffin-blakefamily.tumblr.com/). This is set in the canonverse and I’m not entirely sure what’s going on that led them here, but I’m going with the season-five-is-ending-with-space-travel theory.

It was no surprise that Emori had figured out how to open the collars. She thrived in space. Her thirst for knowledge meant that she picked up everything Raven threw at her in record time. So _of course_ she figured out how the collars worked.

The only real surprise was that Shaw agreed to come with them when they ran. It was a compromise, really. Echo would have killed him if he stayed. Raven knows that he knows that. His intelligence is an asset. By defecting, he was giving them an advantage, and Clarke and Bellamy were planning to use it. Whoever wants to get off this planet has to do things on their terms.

So, now they’re hiding in a cave, waiting for word on what happens next… waiting to find out if Clarke and Bellamy are still the unstoppable team that they were before. But that opens up a whole line of thought that she doesn’t want right now. There will be time to figure out what all that means later. For the moment, she’s busy pretending that she’s not staring at Shaw and how absurdly out of place he looks. He belongs on a ship, surrounded by tech, not dirt; sitting in a pilot’s seat, not on a rock.

He’s leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, but his breathing isn’t steady enough for sleep. The truth is, they’re alone right now, truly alone for the first time and they’re avoiding each other. At least, she’s avoiding him. Things started to shift between them when she confided in him the other night and it terrifies her. Was that really just two nights ago? She forgot how fast things move down here.  

Fast.

Things down here move fast.

 _Fuck_.

Less than a week ago, she wanted to punch this guy in the face. But now? He claims not to be as good as she thinks, but that’s a lie if she ever heard one. And she’s heard plenty in her life. She’s found more in him to admire than she ever thought possible.

_Things down here move fast._

As soon as Raven takes her first step toward him, he opens his eyes and she hesitates.

“We’re not supposed to go outside alone,” is all he says.

“I’m not going outside.” She glares at him and wipes her hands on her hips before walking over to his side of the cave.

He watches her while she adjusts herself on the rock next to him as far away as possible. _Things move fast._ She scoots a little closer and reaches out to touch his temple.

“Your eye looks a lot better.”

He smirks. “I thought you were avoiding me.”

“No time for idle conversation when we’re saving the world.”

“Did we save it?”

“I guess we don’t know yet.” She taps her fingers on her knee, chewing on her lip while she tries to build her courage back up. “I’m glad you came with us.”

“I’m not sure I had much choice.” The words could have been harsher, probably should have been, but he’s smiling. “You made a very compelling argument.”

Raven smiles and stares down at the ground. “Well, I figured out how to pilot a rocket. I’m sure I could have figured out how to fly your ship if I had to.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“But I didn’t want to. It would have been such a waste of my time.”

He chuckles under his breath. “I’m not sure anything you’ve ever done could be considered a waste.”

Her head snaps up and her stomach flips dangerously again. There’s no good reason for him to say these things. She wants to protest, tell him that he doesn’t know her or what she’s done. But she doesn’t, because it would be another lie.

“Anyway,” he gestures off to the side, “why teach yourself when you could just learn from the best, right?”

“Second best.” She grins when he tilts his head to the side, questioning. “I’m always the top of my class. Teacher’s _love_ me.” She points at herself. “Youngest Zero-G mechanic in half a century, right here.”

“Oh, forgive me.” He holds his hands up in deference. “I didn’t know who I was talking to.”

“That’s okay. It takes time to learn about all the awesome I contain.”

“And yet, none of it has surprised me.” Raven narrows her eyes at him and he shrugs, starting to pick at a string near his knee. “Come on, Raven. You hacked me out of my own system. How is anything you do supposed to surprise me? You could tell me that you built a ship out of scrap metal and I’d believe you.”

“I did, actually.”

His hand stills and his eyebrows shoot up. “No way.”

“I thought you said you’d believe me!”

“That was before you told me you built a ship out of scrap metal.”

“To be fair, it was a just dropship. And the frame was still intact. But I had to put it back together.”

He rolls his eyes. “Look at you, inflating your accomplishments. I was already impressed. No need to try so hard.”

Raven laughs and pushes him lightly. He pretends to catch himself, like she pushed him hard enough that he might fall off the rock. She leans her back against the wall, mimicking his earlier pose while he readjusts himself, ending up a few inches closer than before. Their arms aren’t quiet touching, but the space between them is charged. Electric. She just smiles, letting herself enjoy having a crush on a boy for one moment without the weight of everything else that’s happened. There’s only the easy banter, the few gentle touches that they’ve shared, the way the air between their arms crackles, and the way the spark soaks through to her skin and speeds up her heart.

“I’m glad I came with you, too, by the way.”

It’s almost a whisper. She turns her head and he’s still looking forward, a small smile on his face, too. He’s just so close and things here can change so fast. She can count the number of times she’s been impulsive in her life on one hand and most of them happened after she came to the ground. But doesn’t she deserve something good? Even if it’s just for a second?

 _Yes_.

Raven leans over and carefully presses her lips to his cheek. He inhales sharply and she pulls back, worried that she misjudged the entire situation.

“I guess I can still surprise you after all this time,” she tries to joke.

Shaw nods, still staring straight ahead, eyes wide.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” She starts to scoot off the rock, wondering if the opposite side of the cave is far enough that she can hide her burning cheeks and the pit in her stomach.

Before she can stand, his hand closes over hers tightly. “Wait.”

She stops, but she’s too scared of what she’ll see on his face to turn back.

“Raven, will you just look at me?” She shakes her head, blinking back unshed tears. He scoots up to her level and bumps her with his shoulder. “I clearly don’t handle surprise well.”

“Not many people do,” she says, proud of how steady she keeps her voice.

Shaw twists, pulls his leg up underneath him so his knee barely touches her hip. He lets go of her hand and reaches up, touching her cheek, gently turning her face. His eyes drop to her lips and drag back up her face in a way that makes her heart stutter.

“It was a good surprise,” he mutters before he presses his forehead to hers. “Just not something I thought was possible.”

 _Oh._ Raven is too distracted by all of the sudden contact to fully feel the wave of relief as it washes over her, morphing into anticipation. If she could say anything, she would agree with him. This isn’t where she thought they would be, and yet….

The kiss starts soft and she’s not sure which one of them closed the distance, but it doesn’t matter in the end, because her hands are locked behind his neck and his thumb keeps running along her cheekbone and her entire body is _buzzing_. She can feel him smile against her mouth between kisses and it’s contagious. She can’t stop her own smile, even though she wants to keep kissing him, and then they’re both laughing, foreheads pressed to each other’s shoulders.

This quiet, happy moment won’t last long. She knows it won’t. Everyone else will be back soon and _things change fast here_. But it’s _good_ and she allows herself to revel in it, to forget about the world outside and focus on the way it feels to be held.

“ _Definitely_ a good surprise,” he whispers, placing another kiss to her shoulder. “ _Very_ good.”


End file.
